A proposal to expand tax-advantaged Nebraska college savings accounts to cover the costs of private K-12 tuition passed as part of a larger bill related to property taxes. (Camilla Forte/The Hechinger Report)
LINCOLN — A proposal to expand tax-advantaged Nebraska college savings accounts to cover the costs of private K-12 tuition passed Friday as part of a larger bill related to property taxes.
The passage of Legislative Bill 647 was delayed because State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha wanted to remove State Sen. Tony Sorrentino’s proposal due to what she called a broken “agreement” regarding State Sen. Ashlei Spivey of Omaha, which would have helped schools fund long-term substitutes so teachers could take paid time off around significant life events.
State Sen. Brad von Gillern of the Elkhorn area said there was no “agreement” with the Legislature’s Revenue Committee.
“There was no deal,” he said. “I was invited into a conversation to talk about the bills that were at play, including Senator [Ashlei Spivey]’s bill. I told the participants in that meeting clearly that I will not make a deal. Each bill needs to stand on its own.”
The “deal” involved a bipartisan group on the Education Committee and the state’s largest teachers’ union — which led to a month-long effort to get a package of proposals out of committee. That package is dead, replaced by a watered-down clean-up bill.
LB 647 advanced 35-13. That tally included the support of two Democrats, State Sen. Eliot Bostar of Lincoln and Dan Quick of Grand Island. Bostar said that he voted against including Sorrentino’s proposal during the last round of debate but decided to vote for LB 647 as a whole because it was needed to balance the budget. State Sen. Dan Quick of Grand Island said his constituents have asked to be in favor of Sorrenino’s proposal.
At least 42 states already allow such savings accounts to cover tuition at K-12 private schools, which was first allowed federally in 2018 after congressional passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, for up to $10,000 per beneficiary per year. A 529 savings plan — in Nebraska, NEST 529 — offers tax breaks to encourage families or students to donate and allows the savings to grow tax-free and be used for an approved educational purpose.
Nebraska voters in November repealed the state’s new school voucher or scholarship program that was set to steer public dollars to private schools, though conservative lawmakers and Gov. Jim Pillen have pledged to keep trying to pass a replacement. Public school advocates have argued against using public funds for that purpose and said voucher programs in other states have bled public money needed for public education.
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